Both Nintendo and Game Freak took a big risk in developing Pokémon Legends: Arceus. While Pokémon games have been pretty much open world since they released in 1995, this is the first time Game Freak have completely redesigned the battling mechanics in its beloved franchise.
So much about the game feels fresh; from the ability to craft, to the time period and blended style of catching mechanics; everything about the newest Pokémon game was done so with a sense of risk.
It seems to have paid off however. Pokémon Legends: Arceus had the fourth best launch in the UK and by far the best launch for a single game release. Reviews for the game started off and continued strong. In our review, James Daly loved it calling it ”The evolution fans have waited for." While it feels far removed from the regular series, fans appear to be pleased with the change.
Haven't caught much of Pokemon Legends: Arceus yet? Well check out the latest starter final evolutions in the video below.
It's not all good news though for this latest entry in the pocket monster collecting series. There is a complete lack of accessibility options, including basics like controller remapping and sound to subtitles. In a game as action oriented as this one, with such a large number of inputs, controller re-mapping would be a huge advantage to all kinds of players.
Since release, modders have been working to shape this latest game the way they want it. While piracy is of course bad, and developers should be recompensed for all their work and efforts, getting Pokémon Legends: Arceus running on PC via emulator could help add these much needed accessibility options. YouTuber reznoire appears to have it running on PC though attempts to get it working at 60fps have seen mixed success.
While the emulator is capable of getting our protagonist running around Hisui at this steady framerate, they also end up battling at twice their normal speed, which looks fairly comical. Also the menus run double time making it difficult to enter the commands you want. Playing with keyboard over controller though, will open up a lot of options for players with limited hand movement.
